Displaying of print layout

ABSTRACT

Displaying of document information to be printed in a printing apparatus capable of inserting, during printing on print sheets fed from a predetermined sheet feed unit, a plurality of types of sheets from sheet feed units different from the predetermined sheet feed unit, is controlled by setting information on an insert sheet to be inserted in document information, determining for each page of the document information and of the set insert sheet whether or not the page is printable or unprintable, and controlling to differently display a printable page and an unprintable page in accordance with the determination result.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processingmethod, information processing apparatus and printing apparatus, forexample, to an information processing method, information processingapparatus and printing apparatus in a case wherein a print layout in aprint layout application or printer driver is displayed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Different types of data such as characters, tables, and imagesrequire different structures which define the data and different editingoperations for the data. Various application programs are provided inaccordance with the type of data. The user uses different applicationsfor different types of data: a character processing program in order toedit characters, a spreadsheet program in order to edit tables, and animage editing program in order to edit images.

[0003] In this way, the user generally uses different applicationprograms for different types of data. In general, a document to becreated by the user is made up of a plurality of types of data such ascharacters and tables, or characters and images, rather than a documentformed from only one type of data such as characters, tables, or images.To create a target document containing a plurality of types of data, theuser must use the printing functions of various applications to printdata by the respective applications, and combine the print materials ina desired order.

[0004] Some programs such as so-called “Office Suite” which forms oneintegrated application from various applications provide a function ofcombining data generated by respective applications into one document.The use of the integrated application allows the user to combine datacreated by respective applications into one target document by using aspecific application included in the integrated application.

[0005] Some printer drivers have a function for insertingspecial-purpose paper (referred to as “paper sheet insertion function”)in a print job.

[0006] A printer driver with a paper sheet insertion function candesignate to insert front and back covers which are respectivelyinserted in first and last pages, in which a paper sheet fed by using aninserter mounted on the device is inserted in the first and/or last pageof a document. In the state of the art, however, the device supportsonly the front and back covers as insertion paper sheets to bedesignated, and a slip sheet which is inserted as a break for each groupof pages (to be referred to as a chapter, hereinafter), an index sheetwhich is inserted as an index for each chapter, and the like have notbeen supported yet. In addition, the insertion paper is fed only fromthe inserter of the device, and feed cassettes mounted on the devicecannot be selectively used. Some applications or printer drivers have aprint preview function which previews, before printing, how a documentis to be printed, and enables a user to recognize it. However, since theprint preview function of the application previews document information,no information about the insertion paper is displayed. The print previewfunction of some printer drivers previews that the insertion paper sheetis present, but it is difficult to make the user determine which ofpaper sheets on the print preview window is the insertion paper sheet.

[0007] The use of an integrated application for creating a targetdocument enables arranging various data in the data state withoutprinting them out. No heavy labor is required in comparison withcreation of a target document by combining print materials. However,applications for editing and creating various data are restricted toones included in the integrated application, so a user-desiredapplication is not always exploited. A target document created by theintegrated application is one document file, and management such asediting and output is done for each file. The application function posesmany constraints on setting the format of part of the document file. Forexample, the user must change format settings at each portion where theformat is changed, and print a target page again. This leads to muchlabor and low productivity, similar to the above-mentioned method.

[0008] In a conventional system for displaying a print layout on adisplay, even when a specialty paper sheet is to be inserted and theinserted specialty paper sheet is not to be printed, since printablepages and unprintable pages are displayed in the same form, a usercannot determine on the window display which of paper sheets areunprintable. For this reason, when, e.g., a page number or the like isto be additionally drawn from the print layout display window, thepresence of the unprintable insertion paper causes a trouble.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the abovesituation, and has as its object to provide a mechanism with goodoperability for a user when a paper sheet is inserted in a document tobe printed.

[0010] It is another object of the present invention to distinguishablyshow a printable page and a non-printable page as well as make the sizeof the non-printable page perceptible upon displaying a print layout.

[0011] According to the present invention, the foregoing objects areattained by providing an information processing method of controlling adisplay of document information to be printed in a printing apparatuscapable of inserting, during printing on print sheets fed from apredetermined sheet feed unit, a plurality of types of sheets from sheetfeed units different from the predetermined sheet feed unit, comprising:setting information on an insert sheet to be inserted in documentinformation; determining for each page of the document information andof the set insert sheet whether or not the page is printable orunprintable; and controlling to differently display a printable page andan unprintable page in accordance with the determination result.

[0012] According to the present invention, the foregoing objects areattained by providing an information processing apparatus forcontrolling a display of document information to be printed in aprinting apparatus capable of inserting, during printing on print sheetsfed from a predetermined sheet feed unit, a plurality of types of sheetsfrom sheet feed units different from the predetermined sheet feed unit,comprising: a setting unit adapted to set information on an insert sheetto be inserted in document information; a determination unit adapted todetermine for each page of the document information and of the insertsheet set by the setting unit whether or not the page is printable orunprintable; and a display controller adapted to control to differentlydisplay a printable page and an unprintable page in accordance with adetermination result by the determination unit.

[0013] Other features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate thesame or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in andconstitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

[0015]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a stand-alone documentprocessing system;

[0016]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a computer which implements thedocument processing system;

[0017]FIGS. 3A and 3B are views showing an example of a book filestructure;

[0018]FIGS. 4A and 4B show a table of a list of book attributes;

[0019]FIG. 5 is a table showing a list of chapter attributes;

[0020]FIG. 6 is a table showing a list of page attributes;

[0021]FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing procedures of opening a book file;

[0022]FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing procedures of importing anelectronic original file into a book file;

[0023]FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing procedures of convertingapplication data into an electronic original file;

[0024]FIG. 10 is a view showing an example of a user interface windowwhen an existing book file is opened;

[0025]FIG. 11 is a view showing an example of a user interface windowwhen a new book file is opened;

[0026]FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a client-server documentprocessing system;

[0027]FIG. 13 is a view showing a setting window when none is insertedin single-sided printing and double-sided printing in the embodiment ofthe present invention;

[0028]FIG. 14 is a view showing a setting window when only a “frontcover” is inserted in single-sided printing and double-sided printing inthe embodiment of the present invention;

[0029]FIG. 15 is a view showing a setting window when only “indexsheet/sheets” is/are inserted in single-sided printing and double-sidedprinting in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0030]FIG. 16 is a view showing a setting window when the “front cover”and “index sheet/sheets” are inserted in single-sided printing anddouble-sided printing in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0031]FIG. 17 is a view showing a setting window when only “slipsheet/sheets” is/are inserted in single-sided printing and double-sidedprinting in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0032]FIG. 18 is a view showing a setting window when the “front cover”and “slip sheet/sheets” are inserted in single-sided printing anddouble-sided printing in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0033]FIG. 19 is a view showing a setting window when the “indexsheet/sheets” and “slip sheet/sheets” are inserted in single-sidedprinting and double-sided printing in the embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0034]FIG. 20 is a view showing a setting window when the “front cover”,“index sheet/sheets”, and “slip sheet/sheets” are inserted insingle-sided printing and double-sided printing in the embodiment of thepresent invention;

[0035]FIG. 21 is a view showing a setting window when the “front cover”and a “back cover” are inserted in single-sided printing anddouble-sided printing in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0036]FIG. 22 is a view showing a setting window when the “front cover”,“index sheet/sheets”, and “back cover” are inserted in single-sidedprinting and double-sided printing in the embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0037]FIG. 23 is a view showing a setting window when the “front cover”,“slip sheet/sheets”, and “back cover” are inserted in single-sidedprinting and double-sided printing in the embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0038]FIG. 24 is a view showing a setting window when the “front cover”,“index sheet/sheets”, “slip sheet/sheets”, and “back cover” are insertedin single-sided printing and double-sided printing in the embodiment ofthe present invention;

[0039]FIG. 25 is a view showing a setting window when none is insertedin bookbinding printing in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0040]FIG. 26 is a view showing a setting window when only the “frontcover” is inserted in bookbinding printing in the embodiment of thepresent invention;

[0041]FIG. 27 is a flow chart showing processing of displaying on astatus bar the number of pages to be charged and the number of pages notto be charged in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0042]FIG. 28 is a flow chart showing display processing of a printlayout in the embodiment of the present invention;

[0043]FIGS. 29A to 29E are views showing display examples when a slipsheet fed from an inserter is inserted in a document in a print job;

[0044]FIGS. 30A to 30G are views showing display examples when a frontcover fed from an inserter is added to the front of a document in aprint job;

[0045]FIGS. 31A to 31E are views showing display examples when indexsheets are inserted in a document in a print job;

[0046]FIG. 32 is a flow chart showing a sheet size determinationprocedure of a front cover fed from an inserter according to theembodiment of the present invention;

[0047]FIG. 33 is a view showing a display window when a front cover fedfrom an inserter is put on a first page and “Z-fold” is not designatedin a print job;

[0048]FIG. 34 is a view showing a display window when a front cover fedfrom an inserter is put on a first page and “Z-fold” is designated in aprint job;

[0049]FIG. 35 is a view showing a display window when a front cover fedfrom an inserter is put on a first page, different types of sheets areset as print sheets, and “Z-fold” is not designated in a print job; and

[0050]FIG. 36 is a view showing a display window when a front cover fedfrom an inserter is put on a first page, different types of sheets areset as print sheets, and “Z-fold” is designated in a print job.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0051] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be describedin detail in accordance with the accompanying drawings.

[0052] <General Description of System>

[0053] A document processing system as a preferred embodiment of aninformation processing system according to the present invention will begenerally described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12. This documentprocessing system converts a data file created by a general applicationinto an electronic original file by an electronic original writer. Abookbinding application provides a function of editing the electronicoriginal file. Details of the system will be explained below.

[0054] <System Configuration and Operation>

[0055]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the software structure of thedocument processing system according to the embodiment. The documentprocessing system is implemented by a digital computer 100 (to be alsoreferred to as a host computer hereinafter) as an embodiment suited tothe information processing apparatus of the present invention. A generalapplication 101 is an application program which provides functions suchas word processing, spreadsheet, photo-retouch, draw, paint,presentation, and text editing. The general application 101 has aprinting function corresponding to the OS (Operating System). Suchapplications utilize a predetermined interface (generally called GDI)provided by the OS in printing application data such as created documentdata or image data. To print created data, the general application 101transmits an output command (called a GDI function) which is determinedin advance for the output module of the OS providing the interface andhas an OS-dependent format. The output module which has received theoutput command converts the command into a format processible by anoutput device such as a printer, and outputs the converted command(called a DDI function). Since the format processible by the outputdevice changes depending on the type of device, the manufacturer, andthe model, a device driver is provided for each device. The OS convertsa command by using the device driver, generates print data, and combinesprint data by JL (Job Language) to generate a print job. When the OS isMicrosoft Windows, the output module is a GDI (Graphic Device Interface)module.

[0056] An electronic original writer 102 is an improvement of the devicedriver, and is a software module provided to implement the documentprocessing system. The electronic original writer 102 does not target aspecific output device, and converts an output command into a formatprocessible by a bookbinding application 104 or printer driver 106 (tobe described later) . The format (to be referred to as an electronicoriginal format hereinafter) converted by the electronic original writer102 is not particularly limited as far as each original page can beexpressed by a detailed format. Of substantial standard formats, forexample, the PDF format by Adobe Systems and the SGML format can beadopted as electronic original formats. When the application 101utilizes the electronic original writer 102, the electronic originalwriter 102 is designated as a device driver used for output, and thencaused to execute printing. An electronic original file created by theelectronic original writer 102 does not have a complete electronicoriginal file format. For this reason, the electronic original writer102 is designated as a device driver by the bookbinding application 104,and executes conversion of application data into an electronic originalfile under the management of the bookbinding application 104. Thebookbinding application 104 completes a new incomplete electronicoriginal file generated by the electronic original writer 102 as anelectronic original file having the following format. In case ofnecessity to definitely discriminate these files, a file created by theelectronic original writer 102 will be called an electronic originalfile, and an electronic original file given a structure by thebookbinding application 104 will be called a book file. If these filesneed not be particularly discriminated, a document file, an electronicoriginal file, and a book file generated by applications are calleddocument files (or document data).

[0057] As described above, the electronic original writer 102 isdesignated as a device driver, and the general application 101 printsthe data. Application data is converted into an electronic originalformat in pages (to be referred to as logical pages or original pageshereinafter) defined by the application 101. The converted data isstored as an electronic original file 103 in a storage medium such as ahard disk. The hard disk may be the local drive of the computer whichimplements the document processing system of this embodiment, or whenthe computer is connected to a network, may be a drive provided on thenetwork.

[0058] The bookbinding application 104 provides the user with a functionof loading and editing the electronic original file or book file 103.The bookbinding application 104 provides no function of editing thecontents of each page, but a function of editing a chapter or bookstructure (to be described later) made up of pages as a minimum unit.

[0059] To print the book file 103 edited by the bookbinding application104, the bookbinding application 104 activates an electronic originaldespooler 105. The electronic original despooler 105 reads out adesignated book file from the hard disk. To print each page in a formatdescribed in the book file, the electronic original despooler 105generates an output command complying with the output module of the OSdescribed above, and outputs the command to the output module (notshown) . At this time, the printer driver 106 of a printer 107 used asan output device is designated as a device driver. The output moduleconverts the output command received using the printer driver 106 of thedesignated printer 107 into a device command interpretable by theprinter 107. The device command is transmitted to the printer 107, whichprints an image corresponding to the command.

[0060]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware of the computer100. In FIG. 2, a CPU 201 executes a program such as an OS, generalapplication, or bookbinding application which is stored in the programROM of a ROM 203 or loaded from a hard disk 211 to a RAM 202, andrealizes the software structure in FIG. 1 or flow chart procedures (tobe described later). The RAM 202 functions as the main memory and/orwork area of the CPU 201. A keyboard controller (KBC) 205 controls a keyinput from a keyboard 209 or a pointing device (not shown). A CRTcontroller (CRTC) 206 controls the display on a CRT display 210. A diskcontroller (DKC) 207 controls access to the hard disk (HD) 211 or floppydisk (FD: not shown) which stores a boot program, various applications,font data, user files, editing files (to be described later), and thelike. A printer controller (PRTC) 208 controls signal exchange with theconnected printer 107 (see FIG. 1). A network controller (NC) 212 isconnected to a network, and executes communication control processingwith another device connected to the network.

[0061] <Electronic Original Data Format>

[0062] Before the bookbinding application 104 is described in detail,the book file data format will be explained. The book file has athree-layered structure similar to a paper-medium book. The upper layeris called a “book”, resembles one book, and defines the attributes ofthe entire book. The intermediate layer corresponds to a chapter in thebook, and is also called a “chapter”. As for each chapter, itsattributes can be defined independently. The lower layer is a “page”,and corresponds to each page defined by an application program. As foreach page, its attributes can be defined independently. One book mayinclude a plurality of chapters, and one chapter may include a pluralityof pages.

[0063]FIG. 3A is a block diagram schematically showing an example of thebook file format. In the book file of this example, a book, chapter, andpage are represented by corresponding nodes. One book file includes onebook. The book and chapter are a concept for defining a book structure,and contain, as entities, defined attribute values and links to lowerlayers. The page has, as an entity, data of each page output from anapplication program. In addition to an attribute value, the pagecontains the entity of an original page (original page data) and a linkto each original page data. In some cases, a print page to be outputonto a paper medium or the like includes a plurality of original pages.This structure is displayed not by a link but by an attribute in thebook, chapter, or page layer.

[0064] In FIGS. 3A and 3B, a book 301 defines a book attribute, and islinked to two chapters 302A and 302B. These links display that thechapters 302A and 302B are included in the book 301. The chapter 302A islinked to pages 303A and 303B, which represents that the chapter 302Aincludes these pages. The pages 303A and 303B define attribute values,and contain links to original page data (1) and (2) serving as entities.These links represent data (1) and (2) of original page data 304 shownin FIG. 3B, and display that the entities of the pages 303A and 303B areoriginal page data (1) and (2).

[0065]FIGS. 4A and 4B show a list of book attributes. As for an itemwhich can be defined repetitively on a lower layer, the attribute valueof the lower layer is preferentially adopted. As for an item containedin only the book attribute, a value defined in the book attribute iseffective over the book. An item repetitively defined on a lower layeris a default value used when this item is not defined in the lowerlayer. Each item shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B do not always correspond toone concrete item, but may contain a plurality of relevant items.

[0066]FIG. 5 shows a list of chapter attributes, and FIG. 6 shows a listof page attributes. The relationship between chapter attributes and pageattributes is the same as that between book attributes and lower layerattributes.

[0067] Items unique to book attributes are six items: printing method,details of bookbinding, front/back cover, index sheet, slip sheet, andchaptering. These items are defined over the book. As printing methodattributes, three values: single-sided printing, double-sided printing,and bookbinding printing can be designated. Bookbinding printing is amethod of printing data in a format which allows bookbinding by bundlinga separately designated number of paper sheets, folding the bundle intotwo, and binding the bundle. As detailed bookbinding attributes, theopening direction and the number of paper sheets to be bundled can bedesignated when bookbinding printing is designated.

[0068] The front/back cover attribute includes designation of addingpaper sheets serving as front and back covers when an electronicoriginal file combined as a book is printed, and designation of contentsto be printed on the added paper sheets. The index sheet attributeincludes designation of inserting a deckle-edged index sheet separatelyprepared in a printing apparatus for chaptering, and designation ofcontents to be printed on the index (deckle-edged) portion. Thisattribute becomes effective when a printing apparatus to be used isequipped with an inserter having an inserting function of inserting apaper sheet prepared separately from a print paper sheet into a desiredposition, or when a plurality of sheet cassettes can be used. This alsoapplies to the slip sheet attribute.

[0069] The slip sheet attribute includes designation of inserting apaper sheet fed from an inserter or sheet feed cassette for chaptering,and designation of a sheet feed source when a slip sheet is inserted.

[0070] The chaptering attribute includes designation of whether to use anew paper sheet, use a new print page, or do nothing particular at achapter break. In single-sided printing, the use of a new paper sheetand the use of a new print page are the same. In double-sided printing,two consecutive chapters are not printed on one paper sheet if “the useof a new paper sheet” is designated, but may be printed on the upper andlower surfaces of one paper sheet if “the use of a new print page” isdesignated.

[0071] As for the chapter attribute, there is no item unique to thechapter, and all items overlap those of the book attribute. If thedefinition of the chapter attribute is different from that of the bookattribute, a value defined by the chapter attribute precedes. Itemscommon to only the book and chapter attributes are five items: papersize, paper direction, N-up printing designation, enlargement/reduction,and discharge method. The N-up printing designation attribute is an itemfor designating the number of original pages included in one print page.Layouts which can be designated are 1×1, 1×2, 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, and thelike. The discharge method attribute is an item for designating whetherto staple discharged paper sheets, and whether to apply Z-fold todischarged paper sheets. The effectiveness of this item depends onwhether the printing apparatus has a staple function and a Z-foldfunction, respectively.

[0072] Items unique to the page attribute are a page rotation attribute,zoom, layout designation, annotation, and page division. The pagerotation attribute is an item for designating the rotation angle when anoriginal page is laid out on a print page. The zoom attribute is an itemfor designating the zoom ratio of an original page. The zoom ratio isdesignated based on a virtual logical page region size=100%. The virtuallogical page region is a region occupied by one original page whenoriginal pages are laid out in accordance with N-up designation or thelike. For example, the virtual logical page region is a regioncorresponding to one print page for 1×1, and a region obtained byreducing each side of one print page to about 70% for 1×2.

[0073] Attributes common to the book, chapter, and page are a watermarkattribute and header/footer attribute. The watermark is a separatelydesignated image or character string printed over data created by anapplication. The header and footer are watermarks printed at the upperand lower margins of each page. For the header and footer, items such asa page number, and time and date which can be designated by variablesare prepared. Contents which can be designated by the watermarkattribute and header/footer attribute are common to the chapter andpage, but are different in the book. The book can set the contents ofthe watermark and header/footer, and designate how to print a watermarkor header/footer throughout the book. To the contrary, the chapter andpage can designate whether to print a watermark or header/footer set bythe book on the chapter or page.

[0074] <Book File Generation Procedures>

[0075] The book file has the above-described structure and contents.Procedures of creating a book file by the bookbinding application 104and electronic original writer 102 will be explained. Creation of a bookfile is realized as part of book file editing operation by thebookbinding application 104. FIG. 7 shows procedures when thebookbinding application 104 opens a book file.

[0076] First, the bookbinding application 104 checks whether a book fileto be opened is one to be newly created or an existing one (step S701).If YES in step S701, the bookbinding application 104 newly creates abook file including no chapter (step S702). In the example shown inFIGS. 3A and 3B, the newly created book file is a book node which hasonly the book node 301 without any link to a chapter node. As the bookattribute, a set of attributes prepared in advance for creation of a newbook file are applied. Then, a UI (User Interface) window for editingthe new book file is displayed (step S704). FIG. 11 shows an example ofthe UI window when a book file is newly created. In this case, a UIwindow 1100 does not display any information because the book file doesnot have any substantial content.

[0077] If NO in step S701, the bookbinding application 104 opens adesignated book file (step S703), and a UI (User Interface) window isdisplayed in accordance with the structure, attribute, and contents ofthe book file. FIG. 10 shows an example of the UI window. The UI window1100 has a tree portion 1101 representing a book structure, and apreview portion 1102 displaying a state to be printed. The tree portion1101 displays chapters included in the book and pages included in eachchapter by a tree structure as shown in FIG. 3A. Pages displayed at thetree portion 1101 are original pages. The preview portion 1102 displaysreduced print page contents. The display order reflects the bookstructure.

[0078] Application data converted into an electronic original file bythe electronic original writer 102 can be added as a new chapter to theopened book file. This function is called an electronic original importfunction. An electronic original is imported to the book file newlycreated by the procedures of FIG. 7, thereby giving an entity to thebook file. This function is activated by drag-and-drop operation ofapplication data to the window of FIGS. 10 or 11. FIG. 8 showselectronic original import procedures.

[0079] First, the bookbinding application 104 activates an applicationprogram which has generated designated application data. The electronicoriginal writer 102 is designated as a device driver, and prints outapplication data to convert it into electronic original data (stepS801). After conversion, whether the converted data is image data ischecked (step S802). This determination can be achieved based on thefile extension of the application under the Windows OS. For example, anextension “bmp” represents Windows bitmap data; “jpg”, jpeg-compressedimage data; and “tiff”, tiff-format image data. If YES in step S802,processing in step S801 can be skipped because an electronic originalfile can be directly generated from image data without activating anapplication in step S801.

[0080] If NO in step S802, the bookbinding application 104 adds theelectronic original file generated in step S801 as a new chapter to thebook of a currently open book file (step S803). As for the chapterattribute, an attribute common to a book attribute is set to a bookattribute value, and a different attribute is set to a default valueprepared in advance.

[0081] If YES in step S802, no new chapter is added in principle, andeach original page included in the electronic original file generated instep S801 is added to a designated chapter (step S804). For a file inwhich a book file is newly created, a new chapter is created, and eachpage of the electronic original file is added as a page belonging to thechapter. As for the page attribute, an attribute common to an upperlayer attribute is given the attribute value of the upper layerattribute, and an attribute which is defined in application data andinherited to the electronic original file is given a value defined inthe application data. For example, when N-up designation is defined inapplication data, the page inherits this attribute value. In this way, anew book file is created, or a new chapter is added.

[0082]FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing procedures of generating anelectronic original file by the electronic original writer 102 in stepS801 of FIG. 8. A new electronic original file is created and opened(step S901). An application corresponding to designated application datais activated. The electronic original writer is set as a device driverto transmit an output command to the output module of the OS. The outputmodule converts the received output command into data of the electronicoriginal format by the electronic original writer 102, and outputs theconverted data (step S902). The output destination is the electronicoriginal file opened in step S901. The electronic original writer 102checks whether all designated data have been converted (step S903), andif YES in step S903, the electronic original file is closed (step S904).The electronic original file generated by the electronic original writer102 is a file containing original page data entities shown in FIG. 3B.

[0083] <Editing of Book File>

[0084] As described above, a book file can be created from applicationdata. The generated book file allows editing a chapter and page asfollows.

[0085] (1) New document

[0086] (2) Delete

[0087] (3) Copy

[0088] (4) Cut

[0089] (5) Paste

[0090] (6) Move

[0091] (7) Change chapter name

[0092] (8) Reassign page number/name

[0093] (9) Insert cover

[0094] (10) Insert slip sheet

[0095] (11) Insert index sheet

[0096] (12) Page layout of each original page

[0097] In addition, an operation of canceling executed editingoperation, and an operation of restoring canceled operation can beperformed. These editing functions enable editing operations such asconsolidation of a plurality of book files, rearrangement of chaptersand pages within a book file, delete of chapters and pages within a bookfile, layout change of an original page, and insertion of a slip sheetand index sheet. By these operations, operation results are reflected onattributes shown in FIGS. 4A to 6 and on a book file structure. Forexample, a blank page is inserted into a designated portion by anoperation of newly adding a blank page. The blank page is processed asan original page. If the layout of an original page is changed, thechange contents are reflected on attributes such as the printing method,N-up printing, front/back cover, index sheet, slip sheet, andchaptering.

[0098] <Output of Book File>

[0099] The ultimate goal of a book file created and edited in the abovemanner is to print it out. The user selects a file menu from the UIwindow 1100 of the bookbinding application 104 shown in FIG. 10, andselects “print” from this menu. Then, the book file is printed out froma designated output device. At this time, the bookbinding application104 creates a job ticket from a currently open book file, and transfersthe job ticket to the electronic original despooler 105. The electronicoriginal despooler 105 converts the job ticket into an OS outputcommand, e.g., a Windows GDI command, and transmits the command to anoutput module, e.g., GDI. The output module generates a commandcomplying with a device by a designated printer driver 106, andtransmits the command to the device.

[0100] The job ticket is data with a structure whose minimum unit is anoriginal page. The structure of the job ticket defines the layout of anoriginal page on paper. One job ticket is issued for one job. A documentnode is set at the top of the structure, and defines the attribute ofthe whole document such as double-sided printing/single-sided printing.A paper node belongs to the document node, and contains attributes suchas the identifier of paper for use and designation of a feed port in theprinter. A node for a sheet printed by the paper belongs to each papernode. One sheet corresponds to one paper sheet. A print page (physicalpage) belongs to each sheet. One physical page belongs to one sheet forsingle-sided printing, and two physical pages belong to one sheet fordouble-sided printing. An original page to be laid out on a physicalpage belongs to the physical page. The physical page attribute containsan original page layout.

[0101] The electronic original despooler 105 converts the job ticketinto an output command to the output module.

[0102] <Another System Configuration>

[0103] The document processing system of this embodiment has generallybeen described. This system is of stand-alone type. A server-clientsystem as an extension of the stand-alone system also creates and editsa book file by almost the same arrangement and procedures. A book fileand print processing are managed by the server.

[0104]FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of aserver-client document processing system. The client document processingsystem is constituted by adding to the stand-alone system a DOMS(Document Output Management Service) driver 109 serving as a clientmodule, a DOMS print service module 110, and a DS (Document Service)client module 108. A client document processing system 1200 is connectedto a document management server 1201, centralized print managementserver 1202, and print server 1203. These servers are generallyconnected to the client document processing system via a network. Whenthe servers also function as clients, they are connected by interprocesscommunication which simulates communication between networks. Thedocument management server 1201 and centralized print management server1202 are connected to the client in FIG. 12, but only either one mayexist on the network. If the connected server is the document managementserver, a document management server-client system 1201SC including aclient module is added to the stand-alone document management system. Ifthe connected server is the centralized print management server 1202, aprint management server-client system 1202SC including a client moduleis added.

[0105] The document management server 1201 stores a book file createdand edited by the bookbinding application 104. To manage a book file bythe document management server 1201, the book file is saved in adatabase 1211 of the document management server 1201 instead of or inaddition to the local HD of a client PC. Save and read of a book filebetween the bookbinding application 104 and the document managementserver 1201 are done via the DS client module 108 and a DS core 1212.

[0106] The centralized print management server 1202 manages printing ofa book file stored in the client document processing system 1200 ordocument management server 1201. A print request from the client istransmitted to a DOMS WG server module 1221 of the centralized printmanagement server 1202 via the DOMS driver 109 and DOMS print servicemodule 110. To print a book file by the printer of the client, thecentralized print management server 1202 transfers electronic originaldata to the electronic original despooler 105 via the DOMS print servicemodule 110 of the client. To print a book file by the print server 1203,the centralized print management server 1202 transmits electronicoriginal data to a DOMS print service module 1231 of the print server1203. For example, the centralized print management server 1202 executessecurity check on the qualification of a user who has issued a printrequest for a saved book file, and saves the print processing log. Inthis fashion, the document processing system can be implemented as botha stand-alone system and client-server system.

[0107] <Contents of Preview Display>

[0108] As described above, when the bookbinding application 104 opens abook file, the user interface window 1100 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed.The tree portion 1101 displays a tree representing the structure of theopened book (to be referred to as a “book of interest” hereinafter). Atthe preview portion, three display methods are prepared in accordancewith designation by the user. The first display method is an originalview mode in which an original page is directly displayed. In theoriginal view mode, the contents of an original page belonging to thebook of interest are reduced and displayed. The display at the previewportion does not reflect the layout. The second display method is aprint view mode. In the print view mode, the preview portion 1102displays an original page which reflects the layout of the originalpage. The third display method is a simple print view mode. In thesimple print view mode, the display at the preview portion reflects notthe contents of each original page but only the layout.

[0109] Sheet feed setting processing in printing processing according tothis embodiment will be described next.

[0110] FIGS. 13 to 26 respectively show the UI windows for setting, on asingle window, of insertion/non-insertion of “front/back cover”, “slipsheet/sheets”, and “index sheet/sheets”. FIGS. 13 to 24 show the casesof single-sided printing and double-sided printing, and FIGS. 25 and 26show the cases of bookbinding printing. These UI windows are provided bya bookbinding application which outputs GUT information of the UI windowto the output module of the OS and controls the output module to displaythe GUT information on the display window via the display driver (notshown).

[0111]FIG. 13 shows a UI window for the print settings of thebookbinding application, in which only general pages are set, no specialpages are inserted, and no particular items which are to be set arepresent. If a combo box 1301 of a “pattern” is operated, one pattern canbe selected from eleven patterns shown in FIGS. 14 to 24 which are usedfor setting combinations of insertion paper sheets.

[0112]FIG. 14 shows a UI window for the print settings of thebookbinding application, in which the insertion of a “front cover” isselected, and the insertion from the inserter or sheet feed unit can beselected. If the inserter is selected, a paper sheet prepared in advanceis externally fed to make a front cover (in this case, no printing isperformed on the front cover). If the paper sheet is inserted from thesheet feed unit, the first page of the print original is printed as thefront cover.

[0113]FIG. 15 shows a UI window for the print settings of thebookbinding application, in which the insertion of an “indexsheet/sheets” is selected, and the type numbers of index sheets used andcharacters to be printed in an index portion can be set.

[0114]FIG. 16 shows a UI window for the print settings of thebookbinding application, in which the insertion of the “front cover” and“index sheet/sheets” is selected. In this case, if the front cover isfed from the sheet feed unit, the “index sheet” which is to be normallyinserted in only the front of the chapter is inconsistently inserted inthe front of the “front cover” because original data printed on thefront cover is included in the chapter. To prevent this, in thispattern, the front cover is restricted such that only the insertion fromthe inserter can be selected.

[0115]FIG. 17 shows a UI window for the print settings of thebookbinding application, in which the insertion of “slip sheet/sheets”is selected. The slip sheet can be inserted in the front of eachchapter.

[0116]FIG. 18 shows a UI window for the print settings of thebookbinding application, in which the insertion of the “front cover” and“slip sheet/sheets” is selected. Because of the same reason as in thecase of FIG. 16, the front cover is restricted such that only theinsertion from the inserter can be selected. Similarly, cases in whichthe “front cover” and the “slip sheet/sheets” or “index sheet/sheets”are combined are similarly restricted.

[0117]FIG. 19 shows a UI window for the print settings of thebookbinding application, in which the insertion of the “indexsheet/sheets” and “slip sheet/sheets” is selected. FIG. 20 shows a UIwindow for the print settings of the bookbinding application, in whichthe insertion of the “front cover”, “index sheet/sheets”, and “slipsheet/sheets” is selected. FIG. 21 shows a UI window for the printsettings of the bookbinding application, in which the insertion of the“front cover” and “back cover” is selected. FIG. 22 shows a UI windowfor the print settings of the bookbinding application, in which theinsertion of the “front cover”, the “index sheet/sheets”, and a “backcover” is selected. FIG. 23 shows a UI window for the print settings ofthe bookbinding application, in which the insertion of the “frontcover”, “slip sheet/sheets”, and “back cover” is selected. FIG. 24 showsa UI window for the print settings of the bookbinding application, inwhich the insertion of all the “front cover”, “index sheet/sheets”,“slip sheet/sheets”, and “back cover” is selected.

[0118] As described above, the bookbinding application 104 can designatethe combination of the insertion paper sheets which are to be insertedin document information, and in accordance with the combination of theinsertion sheets designated by the user, the application so controls asto change candidates for the insertion paper sheet feed methods to beselectable by a user. Therefore, the user can easily set the insertionpaper sheet feed method with high operability.

[0119]FIGS. 25 and 26 respectively show UI windows in bookbindingprinting. In this case, since the insertion sheets except for a “cover(and a back cover)” cannot be inserted, the pattern is restricted to beselected from “none” and the “cover (a sheet serving as a front and backcover)”, thereby preventing inconsistent settings.

[0120] As described above, when the print job is to perform theinsertion and/or printing for the specialty sheets such as the “frontcover”, “index sheet/sheets”, “slip sheet/sheets”, and “back cover”settings can be easily performed from the single UI window without anyinconsistency. This can improve the operation efficiency and eliminatesetting errors.

[0121] Note that the above settings can be managed, as documentinformation for printing a document which undergoes these settings,together with the file of the document. In this case, documentinformation is simultaneously read out while reading out thecorresponding document data and output to the printer driver togetherwith the document data, thereby using the previous settings without anychange to print and output the document data.

[0122]FIG. 27 is a flow chart showing processing for displaying, on astatus bar in the bookbinding application 104, the number of pages to becharged and the number of pages not to be charged.

[0123] In step S2701, the bookbinding application 104 acquires pageinformation of a next page. If no page information is acquired in stepS2701, it is determined that all the pages are processed (YES in stepS2702), the flow shifts to step S2708.

[0124] If the page information is acquired (NO in step S2702), the stepS2703 and the subsequent processes are executed. Since any paper sheetswhich are not printed, i.e., any paper sheets fed from the inserter arenot to be charged, “the front cover from the inserter” (YES in stepS2703), “the slip sheet from the inserter” (YES in step S2704), and “theback cover from the inserter” (YES in step S2705) are not to be charged.Therefore, the flow shifts to step S2706 to increment a counter for apage not to be charged.

[0125] If the paper sheet is not fed from the inserter (NO in stepsS2703 to S2705) , the flow shifts to step S2707 to increment a counterfor a page to be charged.

[0126] When all the pages are processed, the final values of the counterfor a page/pages not to be charged and the counter for a page/pages tobe charged are respectively displayed as the number of pages to becharged and the number of pages not to be charged. A place where thesevalues are displayed is not limited to the status bar, and anyeasy-to-see format may be used.

[0127] In this manner, page information is read sequentially from thefirst page to determine whether each page is to be charged, and eachvalue of the corresponding counter is incremented. With this method,pages to be charged and pages not to be charged are counted and theresultant values are displayed. Since the number of pages to be chargedand the number of pages not to be charged are displayed on the statusbar, a user can properly know a charged state.

[0128] A print layout display in this embodiment will be described next.

[0129]FIG. 28 is a flow chart showing processing for discriminablydisplaying a printable page and an unprintable page in the print layoutdisplay of the bookbinding application 104 according to this embodiment.

[0130] First, to display printable or unprintable state, the bookbindingapplication 104 loads page data sequentially from the first page (stepS2801). The bookbinding application 104 determines from the loaded pageattribution information whether this page is printable or unprintable(step S2802.). If YES in step S2802, the bookbinding application 104sets white as the background color of the page (step S2803), and drawsthe page contents thereon (step S2804). If NO in step S2802, thebookbinding application 104 sets gray as the background color of thepage (step S2805). After this processing has been sequentially performedfor all pages (steps S2806 and S2807), finally, all the printable pageshave the white back ground, and all the unprintable pages have the graybackground, thereby discriminating printable pages from unprintablepages at a glance.

[0131]FIGS. 29A to 29E show display examples when the slip sheet fedfrom the inserter is inserted. FIG. 29A is a tree portion showing thestructure of the documents to be printed. FIG. 29B shows a case insingle-sided printing, in which print contents of each page aredisplayed while the slip sheet is grayed out to enable a user torecognize that it is a special page. FIG. 29C shows an example indouble-sided printing. Since the lower surface of the second page is ablank page but the printable page, it is whiten to be clearlydiscriminated from the unprintable page. The two surfaces of the slipsheet are unprintable. FIGS. 29D and 29E show simple views, in which theprint contents shown in FIGS. 29B and 29C are respectively simplified,and are respectively similar to FIGS. 29B and 29C except that the printcontents are simplified and displayed.

[0132]FIGS. 30A to 30G show display examples when the front cover fedfrom the inserter is added to the front of the documents. FIG. 30A is atree portion showing the structure of the document to be printed. FIGS.30B, 30C, and 30D respectively show examples in single-sided printing,double-sided printing, and bookbinding printing, in which the printcontents are displayed on the printable pages while the front cover isgrayed out to represent that no data is additionally drawn unlike theother pages. FIGS. 30E, 30F, and 30G show simple views representing thesimplified print contents, and are respectively similar to FIGS. 30B,30C, and 30D except that the print contents are simplified anddisplayed.

[0133]FIGS. 31A to 31E show display examples when the index sheets areinserted in the documents. The index sheet has the characteristicfeature that its upper surface is printable, but its lower surface isunprintable. For this reason, in the example of single-sided printingshown in FIG. 31B, all the pages including the index sheets areprintable. In double-sided printing shown in FIG. 31C, the uppersurfaces of the index sheets are whiten to represent that they areprintable, but the lower surfaces are grayed out to represent that theyare unprintable. FIGS. 31D and 31E show simple views representing thesimplified print contents, and are respectively similar to FIGS. 31B and31C except that the print contents are simplified and displayed.

[0134]FIG. 32 is a flow chart for determining a sheet size of a frontcover when the front cover fed from an inserter is set to be put on thetop of document.

[0135] First in step S3201, whether or not a front cover fed from aninserter is set to be put is checked, and if YES, then print sheet sizeinformation is acquired in step S3202. In step S3203, whether or not“Z-fold” is designated in a discharge method is checked, and if YES, thesize of the front cover fed from the inserter is set to a half size ofthe print sheet. If No in step S3203, then the size of the front coverfed from the inserter is set to the size of the output sheet size.

[0136]FIG. 33 shows a display example when a front cover is fed from aninserter. The “Z-fold” is not designated in the discharge method, andthe size of a cover fed from an inserter is set to the size of otherprint sheets.

[0137]FIG. 34 shows a display example when a front cover is fed from aninserter and the “Z-fold” is designated. Other print sheets will be“Z-folded”, the size of the front cover fed from the inserter is set toa half of the size of the print sheets.

[0138] Further, when the sizes of sheets on which a document is printedare designated “mixed” (e.g., A3 and A4 sizes), the print sheet sizeinformation of a larger sheet is acquired in step S3202 in FIG. 32,thereby the size of the front cover fed from the inserter can be set.

[0139]FIG. 35 shows a display example when a front cover is fed from aninserter when mixture of the A3- and A4-size sheets on which a documentis printed is designated. “Z-fold” is not designated in the dischargemethod, and the display shows that the size of the front cover fed fromthe inserter is set to the size of a larger print sheet.

[0140]FIG. 36 shows a display example when a front cover is fed from aninserter when mixture of the A3- and A4-size sheets on which a documentis printed is designated, and “Z-fold” is designated in the dischargemethod. The display shows that the size of the front cover fed from theinserter is set to the size of a smaller print sheet.

[0141] In the FIGS. 32 to 36, a case of inserting a front cover isexplained. When inserting index sheet/sheets, slip sheet/sheets, orother speciality sheet/sheets (e.g., a back cover) are inserted from aninserter or the feed port such as the feed cassette which feeds a sheetto the printing mechanism, the similar operation as described above canbe applied.

[0142] The conventional print layout display does not display theprintable and unprintable pages discriminably. However, the printableand unprintable pages are displayed discriminably in this embodiment, sothat the user can easily confirm the print setting state.

[0143] Further the examples shown in FIGS. 29 to 31 describe the casewherein the slip sheet/sheets, front cover, or index sheet/sheets areinserted. However, the present invention is not limited to this and candiscriminably display the printable and unprintable pages by theprocedures shown in FIG. 28 even when, for example, another specialtypaper (e.g., back cover) is inserted, or the specialty paper is fed fromthe feed port such as the feed cassette which feeds a paper sheet viathe printing mechanism.

[0144] The above examples describe the case wherein the background ofthe printable page is displayed in white and the background of theunprintable page is displayed in gray, but the present invention is notlimited to this. The printable and unprintable pages may be displayed indifferent forms, e.g., in different colors, at different densities, orby adding a bold frame to only the printable page such that theprintable and unprintable pages can be discriminated. Various displayforms can be considered.

[0145] Note that the present invention may be applied to either a systemconstituted by a plurality of devices, or an apparatus consisting of asingle device.

[0146] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments andvarious changes and modifications can be made within the spirit andscope of the present invention. Therefore to apprise the public of thescope of the present invention, the following claims are made.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing method of controlling adisplay of document information to be printed in a printing apparatuscapable of inserting, during printing on print sheets fed from apredetermined sheet feed unit, a plurality of types of sheets from sheetfeed units different from the predetermined sheet feed unit, comprising:setting information on an insert sheet to be inserted in documentinformation; determining for each page of the document information andof the set insert sheet whether or not the page is printable orunprintable; and controlling to differently display a printable page andan unprintable page in accordance with the determination result.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1 further comprising: setting a sheetdischarge method in printing; and changing a sheet size of anunprintable page on the basis of contents of the set sheet dischargemethod, wherein, in controlling to display, the changed sheet size isdisplayed so as to be recognizable.
 3. The method according to claim 1,wherein the determination of whether a page is printable or unprintableis performed based on a printing method.
 4. The method according toclaim 3, wherein the printing method includes at least one ofsingle-sided printing, double-sided printing, and bookbinding printing.5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of types ofsheets include at least one of a front cover, a back cover, slipsheet/sheets, and index sheet/sheets, and the determination of whether apage is printable or unprintable is based on the type of a sheet.
 6. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the determination of whether a pageis printable or unprintable is based on the type of a sheet and thesheet feed unit which feeds the sheet.
 7. The method according to claim1, wherein the sheet feed units include a first sheet feed unit whichfeeds a sheet to a printing mechanism and a second sheet unit whichfeeds a sheet to a path bypassing the printing mechanism.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 7, wherein when a sheet is fed from the second sheetfeed unit and when a double-sided printing is designated and a page is aback side of an index sheet, the page is determined to be unprintable inthe determination.
 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein incontrolling to display, print contents are displayed on a printablepage.
 10. The method according to claim 2, wherein when Z-fold is set inthe set sheet discharge method, a size of the insert sheet is changed toa half size of the print sheets.
 11. The method according to claim 1further comprising: managing information on the set insert sheet byputting the information into a document file of the documentinformation; and reading the information on the insert sheet from thedocument file and outputting the read information to a printer driverwhen printing the document information of the document file beingmanaged.
 12. An information processing apparatus for controlling adisplay of document information to be printed in a printing apparatuscapable of inserting, during printing on print sheets fed from apredetermined sheet feed unit, a plurality of types of sheets from sheetfeed units different from the predetermined sheet feed unit, comprising:a setting unit adapted to set information on an insert sheet to beinserted in document information; a determination unit adapted todetermine for each page of the document information and of the insertsheet set by said setting unit whether or not the page is printable orunprintable; and a display controller adapted to control to differentlydisplay a printable page and an unprintable page in accordance with adetermination result by said determination unit.
 13. The apparatusaccording to claim 12 further comprising: a discharge method settingunit adapted to set a sheet discharge method in printing; and a sheetsize changing unit adapted to change a sheet size of an unprintable pageon the basis of contents set by said discharge method setting unit,wherein said display controller controls to display the sheet sizechanged by said sheet size changing unit so as to be recognizable. 14.The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said determination unitperforms the determination on the basis of a printing method.
 15. Theapparatus according to claim 14, wherein the printing method includes atleast one of single-sided printing, double-sided printing, andbookbinding printing.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 12, whereinthe plurality of types of sheets include at least one of a front cover,a back cover, slip sheet/sheets, and index sheet/sheets, and saiddetermination unit performs determination on the basis of the type of asheet.
 17. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein saiddetermination unit performs determination on the basis of the type of asheet and the sheet feed unit which feeds the sheet.
 18. The apparatusaccording to claim 12, wherein the sheet feed units include a firstsheet feed unit which feeds a sheet to a printing mechanism and a secondsheet unit which feeds a sheet to a path bypassing the printingmechanism.
 19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein when a sheetis fed from the second sheet feed unit and when a double-sided printingis designated and the next page is a back side of an index sheet, saiddetermination unit determines that the page is unprintable.
 20. Theapparatus according to claim 12, wherein said display controllercontrols to display print contents on a printable page.
 21. Theapparatus according to claim 13, wherein said discharge method settingunit includes a unit adapted to set whether or not to perform Z-fold indischarging a printed sheet, and when Z-fold is set by said dischargemethod setting unit, said sheet size changing unit changes a size of theinsert sheet to a half size of the print sheets.
 22. The apparatusaccording to claim 12 further comprising: a document manager adapted tomanage information on the insert sheet set by said setting means byputting the information into a document file of the documentinformation; and an output unit adapted to read the information on theinsert sheet from the document file and output the read information to aprinter driver when printing the document information of the documentfile managed by said document manager.
 23. A storage medium which isreadable by an information processing apparatus and stores a programwhich is executable by the information processing apparatus and has aprogram code for realizing the information processing method defined inclaim 1.